Serena eases through Miami opener

World number one registers straight-sets victory over Pennetta.

MIAMI: Serena Williams got her quest for a record sixth Miami WTA title off to a brisk start with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Italian Flavia Pennetta.

The world number one and top seed, playing her first tournament since falling to Victoria Azarenka in the final at Doha in February, said she did not feel too rusty, although her footwork could improve.

“I think I missed a few shots, but only because I think I was off footwork-wise,” she said. “But it’s always just good just to win a match and stay in the tournament and keep going.”

Despite the lopsided scoreline, Serena said Pennetta’s ability to extend the rallies made the match difficult, although the American fended off all seven break points she faced.

She had 18 break chances against Pennetta, and converted five, saying she felt a little frustrated that she wasn’t doing more.

“I felt like I should be putting the balls away for my opponent quick, but she was so quick and she was running every ball down,” said Serena.

Serena next faces Japan’s Ayumi Morita, a 7-6 (7/2), 2-6, 6-3 winner over Belgian Yanina Wickmayer.

Her elder sister Venus Williams also advanced, holding on for a 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-4 victory over Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krum.

Fourth-seeded defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, fifth-seeded Li Na of China and seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic all joined Williams in the third-round.

Radwanska parlayed an early break in each set into to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei.

“I was happy to have a quick match,” she said. “The first match is always a little bit tough and tricky, especially after Indian Wells, where we had a little bit of different conditions.”

Li, playing her first tournament since suffering an ankle injury in her loss to Azarenka in the Australian Open final, downed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-1.

Former Wimbledon champion Kvitova defeated China’s Peng Shuai 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

Tomic to face Murray

In men’s first-round matches , 20-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic beat French qualifier Marc Gicquel 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) to set up a second-round meeting with second-seeded Scot Andy Murray.

World number three Murray, who thrilled British fans with his Olympic singles gold in London last year and followed up that emotional win with a US Open triumph, thinks he’s well prepared to do battle in the heat and humidity of Miami thanks to his training base here.

“I think it should help,” said Murray. “I have trained in these conditions a lot.”

He finds the south Florida climate more congenial than the dry desert heat of Indian Wells.

“I find the conditions quite tricky in Indian Wells — extremely different from the conditions from here, how I train and practice.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2013.